OTTs shine at State Interschool

Off the track Thoroughbreds made their presence felt at last month’s Interschool Victorian State Championships, writes AMANDA MAC.

The 2025 Petstock Interschool Victorian State Championships were an outstanding success. Held for the first time at Boneo Park, the event ran from the 9th to 13th of April, and showcased some of Victoria’s best young equestrians competing in the disciplines of dressage, show jumping, sporting horse, combined training, and show horse – and in another first, all abilities classes in dressage and showing were added to the program.

Always popular, interest in the 2025 event exceeded expectations, with entry quotas filling on the day they became available. Also a standout at this year’s event was that of the nearly 600 horses entered, a record number were off the track Thoroughbreds.

With just over 90 competing, OTT entrants enjoyed the support and sponsorship of Racing Victoria’s Off the Track program by way of a Best Performed OTT award, complete with rug and prize voucher, for each discipline. Racing Victoria also subsidised the OTT entry fees, and presented every rider with a cap embossed with their horse’s racing name.

Chair of Interschool Victoria and Event Director Mary-Anne McPherson, a volunteer of some year’s standing, is as passionate about OTT Thoroughbreds as she is about the event. “The majority of the off the tracks are ridden by secondary students, who range in age from 13 to 18, and that’s an incredible pool of these horses. Their numbers have been steadily increasing,” she says, “but this year was exceptional.”

A variety of horses and breeds compete at Interschool events, including big ticket dressage and show horses. Nonetheless, the ex-racehorses held their own. “You’ve got off the tracks that have spent a lot of time being retrained, and are now loved and cared for by their kids. These horses are so willing,” Mary-Anne says, “they may not have the big, flashy flying changes that some of the dressage horses have, but they are solid and they’re reliable,” she adds, firmly dispelling any lingering misconceptions that your average OTT is hot headed, unpredictable and usually best avoided!

And in saying OTT horses hold their own, Mary-Anne is not simply referring to their success in competitions and awards which cater exclusively for the off the track community. Their ability is, she says, far greater than that. “Matilda Mason, who won the Senior Jumping championship with her OTT Arthuras, will be going on to compete with the Victorian team at the Australian Interschool Championships in September. Emily Bartlett competed in the working Show Hunter against show horses who go to Royal Melbourne and came second with her retired racehorse Pumpkin Pie.”

The philosophy underpinning the concept of Interschool is that it represents an educational and competition pathway for primary and secondary school children wanting to engage in equestrian sports – and there are many who, thanks to the opportunities Interschool afforded them, have gone on to compete in their chosen discipline as adults, some reaching the sport’s highest levels.

And it’s with this in mind that the value of ex-racehorses for young riders becomes very clear. “The significant growth of off the track horses in the Interschool space has much to do with price point,” Mary-Anne believes. “Interschool competitors come from very diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, and if a hundred thousand dollar horse is out of the question, an off the track horse is a very competitively priced option, and a really great alternative for kids who want to go on and be successful with a solid, capable horse.”

Interschool participants have the opportunity to compete in a variety of events, from dressage and show horse to show jumping, bending and barrel racing. But it’s not all about winning ribbons and rugs, having fun and socialising, although there’s plenty of all of that! The welfare of the horses and their happiness is a primary consideration throughout the five day event, instilling invaluable horsemanship lessons in even the youngest of competitors.

In any event of this size, you can always be sure of one or two interesting backstories, but Penny Mawhinney and Harry Kcool’s surely takes the cake. Foaled in 2001, Harry’s racing career began in 2005. After an underwhelming one second and two thirds from 13 starts, he was retired the following year with a little over $2,000 in prize money.

It was then that he met Penny’s mum, Racing Victoria Acknowledged Retainer Lou Abey, who was keen to find a new career for Harry. “I was playing polocrosse at the time, so I took him,” she says, “and I was working with cattle, so I mustered with him and worked on a big property with my dogs, moving cattle and campdrafting and playing polocrosse.”

None of these options appealed to Harry, but all that changed when Lou popped him over a few rails and discovered that he loved jumping. It turned out that he was a natural, a careful scopey jumper who rarely had a rail down. Although Lou hadn’t jumped competitively for 15 years, Harry quickly helped her get back into the swing of things and took her a long way, twice achieving leading Thoroughbred in the Australian Show Jumping Championships Emerald series, and thinking nothing of whisking Lou around the 1.30m jump-off.

Nearly two decades later, Harry, now an experienced schoolmaster, is back in the ring with Lou’s daughter Penny. The pair recently competed in Round 1 of the Victorian Equestrian Interschool Series, their first Interschool event, where they finished fourth overall in a competitive field of 53 after jumping three clear rounds in the 95cm. However, an unfortunate four penalty points kept them out of the winner’s circle at last month’s Interschool State Championships.

So, from the Equestrian Hub team, congratulations to all the Interschool Victorian Championship competitors, and a shout out to the off the track horses who have discovered a new career in partnership with some of our most promising young riders.